Lulu for the Children

Lulu Harper grew up beneath her mother's bright star. She had some trouble adjusting to Sian Harper's fame, but Sian's troubles with her own fame are legendary. I caught up with Lulu in Huntsville at Tee's Place and we talked between sets where thirteen-year old Nala Washington, one of Honey Conaway's Baltimore proteges, honed her craft. Nala's smoky voice belied her youthful age, and the crowd rumbled with joy at her renditions of "In My Solitude" and "On Green Dolphin Street," but everyone was out of their seats as she launched into "Get Up Offa That Thing," complete with heel turns and hearty huh's as she performed. Lulu, acting as both advocate and agent for Nala, escorted her to the table, and we sat together to talk about the last year.

You look like you're thriving. Are you?

[Lulu] I want to say I am, but it's still hard. It's been hard all my life, but realizing that my mom will not be back, that she won't waltz through my door with some rando, that I won't get a call from some hospital, that's kind of hard. But I feel like she's always watching me. [Lulu to Nala] She's definitely been watching you.

Nala, you're benefiting from Lulu's guidance. How has that been?

Good. [Nala takes a bite of Tee's famous fried chicken and thinks as she chews.] I mean, Miss Lulu grew up famous, so she knows how it can be crazy. People try to get something from you sometimes. Not like, things, but they think they know you. It's like TikTok. Paranormal relationships

[Lulu] Parasocial.

[Nala] Yes, parasocial. They think they know you, but they don't.

Do you like traveling and performing?

[Nala] It's hard to be away from my bed. I really miss my cat. But my brother sends me pictures. [Nala scrolls through some pictures, showing me a blur of fuzzy white and black fur constantly on the move. She falls into her social media and other pictures, giving Lulu and me time to do some grown-up talking.]

[Lulu, to Nala] You can be on your phone. We'll work on interviewing skills later.

So Lulu, how is the foundation otherwise?

We have about sixty kids enrolled, and our campaign this year is for two hundred. There are at least that many at risk kids with massive artistic talent. Each one gets a mentor and curated performance times at welcoming institutions like this one, with safe and friendly audiences. And, of course, they get paid. They get a stipend for participating, and they get instruction on investments, savings, insurance, and travel documentation. They get lifelong connections.

As a kid growing up, I was harassed by paparazzi. My grades were leaked to the media in fifth grade. My physical development was discussed online, and long before I turned eighteen, discussions of whether I was ripe for picking or f-able were in actual magazines. I did some modeling, and that opened the floodgates. And the only reason I got modeling gigs, probably, is because I look like my mom. Guys would date me, and I could tell it was just because I was semi-famous. It wasn't about me. So many parasocial relationships.

Does it feel like you're changing lives?

To be honest, not yet. But I believe in Sunny's Stars. I'm sure that it will mature, and that the alumni of the program will come back and make it better.

Actually, I take it back. It's changing my life. I'm definitely a better person for starting it. I am more empathetic, and just, you know, better.

I heard some rumors about you and Tim Karman?

Tim and I are... well, it's complicated. He was my mom's record producer, so I felt like it would be a bad idea if we hooked up. But I don't know, he has a young spirit. And I feel so old. It's like, both of us having been around my mom, having the intimate but not sexual relationships we did, it's like we were shaped similarly and so we fit together.

So it's a thing?

It's a thing. But it's new. So let's see what happens in a year.

So tell me, what's next for Lulu Harper?

I'm all in on the foundation. That's where my heart is, and I'm an evangelist. Spreading the word for young people in the arts: Protect your body, your spirit, your mind, your money, and your art. We can help.